A Special Veteran’s Day review: “Platoon” and “Thank You For Your Service”

For last week’s edition, I took a look at the highly acclaimed film “Hacksaw Ridge” for my small Veteran’s Day slate. So, for this review, I took a look at the Oliver Stone classic “Platoon” and the 2017 film “Thank You For Your Service.”

In “Platoon,” Chris Taylor leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he’s on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. 

Infighting in his unity between Staff Sergeant Barnes, who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias, who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

The 1986 Oliver Stone film “Platoon” delivers a visceral and brutal portrayal of the Vietnam War. This film also shows us an unflinching depiction of the moral and psychological struggles of soldiers caught in the chaos and violence in both the battlefield and each other.

The film’s cinematography, battle sequences and sound design really helped make the film feel gritty and real, making it a difficult and compelling watch. The emotional impact this film delivers is incredibly powerful as it also explores themes of the loss of innocence, the dehumanizing effects of war and the struggle for survival.

There are quite a few scenes in this film that really stand out, especially the confrontation scenes between Barnes and Elias who have conflicting issues with each other. The village scene where the platoon is searching can be a bit disturbing and hard to watch. And, the most iconic moment of “Platoon” is the slow motion scene of Elias being gunned down by the North Vietnamese Army, which is underscored by Samuel Barber’s “Adegio for Strings.”

“Platoon” received near universal critical acclaim and was a major commercial success. It’s widely considered to be one of the definitive and most realistic films about the Vietnam War. The 1986 film was also nominated for eight Oscars and won four (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Sound).

MPA: Rated R   (runtime 2 hours) (can be found on Tubi)

In the 2017 film “Thank You For Your Service,” after returning home from the war in

Iraq, a group of soldiers struggle to readjust as memories of combat take a toll on their lives and loved ones.

“Thank You For Your Service” is an extremely powerful, important film that often highlights the moving portrayal of veterans struggling with PTSD and the challenges of coming home after being overseas for so long. This 2017 film is a raw, authentic, and eye-opening representation of the realities most veterans face, including numerous struggles with the V.A. (Veterans Affair office) system and mental health support.

Throughout this film, there are quite a few impactful moments, such as when one of the characters is asked to fill out a V.A. form and ultimately hides it from his wife (who ultimately finds it and realizes he’s not doing well). There’s also another emotional moment where Staff Sgt. Schumann finally explains the tragic circumstances of Sgt. Doster’s death to his widow. In this scene, Schumann confesses his survivor’s guilt, and the moment allows both characters to begin healing.

Overall, this film is a necessary and valuable addition to the conversation about veterans’ welfare, highlighting the difficult realities that many face without shying away from the difficult issues. While this critically respected film has a powerful, relevant message, it struggled to find a wide audience in theaters.

MPA: Rated R for strong violent content, language throughout, some sexuality, drug material and brief nudity   (runtime 109 minutes)   (can currently be found on Netflix).

• According to Oliver Stone, he intentionally cast Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe against type. Berenger was mostly famous for playing good guys, while Dafoe had primarily played villains up until then. Both men received Oscar nominations for their work.

• In many U.S. military leadership classes, the character of Lieutenant Wolfe is used as an example of how not to behave as a junior officer.

• The Vietnamese child that Kevin Dillon and Charlie Sheen torment had cataracts, but his family was too poor to pay for treatment. Reportedly, Dillon and Sheen felt so bad about it they pooled money together so that the boy could have surgery.

• Oliver Stone wrote the script's first draft in 1971, and sent it to Jim Morrison in hopes he would play the part Charlie Sheen ultimately played. Morrison had the script on him when he was found dead in Paris.

• The final battle in the movie was a recreation of an actual event that was witnessed by technical advisor Dale Dye, who was a combat correspondent with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines.

• The U.S. Department of Defense declined to cooperate in the making of the film. Military equipment was loaned from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

• Military advisor Dale Dye witnessed Oliver Stone suffer an attack of post-traumatic stress disorder on-set while filming the village scene. He claimed that they had a good cry together afterwards, based on their mutual experience in Vietnam.

• Before shooting commenced, all of the actors had to undergo an intensive two-week basic training in the Philippines under the supervision of military adviser Dale Dye. Oliver Stone's intention was not to have the men bond and act as one unit, but to deprive them of sleep, and make them utterly exhausted, so that they would be burnt out, and therefore in character.

• The movie poster depicting Elias with his hands in the air is a recreation of a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon. This photograph was recognized as the thirteenth greatest military photograph in a September 2000 issue of the Army/Navy/AF Time.

• First part of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy. The other two are Heaven & Earth (1993) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Many of the Platoon (1986) actors have bit parts in "Born."

• John C. McGinley's mother was still recovering from brain surgery during filming. He later said that his manic freak-outs near the end of were mostly real, the result of him mentally trying to cope with the grueling intensity of the shoot.

• The movie is narrated by Charlie Sheen, eerily echoing his father Martin Sheen's narration of Apocalypse Now (1979), also filmed extensively in the Philippines.

• It was during this shoot that Oliver Stone presented Charlie Sheen with a handwritten contract to sign for his next movie Wall Street (1987).

• Was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, who deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2019.

• Amy Schumer donated all the money she earned for this movie to army war vet foundations.

• Scott Haze confined himself to a wheelchair for a solid month in preparation for the role of Michael Adam Emory.

• The rehabilitation center in California that is referred to for treating PTSD is The Pathway Home, which is located in Yountville in the Napa Valley.

• The actual Adam Schumann has a small, but credited, part as the soldier who checks in Miles Teller's gun upon his homecoming at the beginning of the film.

• Steven Spielberg was expected to join the film as director, while American Sniper (2014)'s Oscar-nominated scribe Jason Hall was hired in June 2013 to adapt the book into a film.